A former employee of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has filed a lawsuit alleging severe discrimination and retaliation due to her disability. On August 12, 2024, Kenya Woods filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Woods, who served as an Advanced Medical Support Assistant at the VA's Office of Community Care in New Orleans, claims that she faced continuous discrimination after contracting COVID-19 multiple times between 2020 and 2022. Despite being qualified for her position and receiving satisfactory annual reviews, Woods alleges that her requests for reasonable accommodations were repeatedly denied by her supervisors. According to the complaint, Woods' first-line supervisor, Patricia Dilosa, refused to approve telework accommodations recommended by Woods' physician to avoid life-threatening reinfections.
The lawsuit details numerous instances where Woods' requests for telework were denied despite medical documentation supporting her need for such accommodations. For example, on May 10, 2021, Dr. Yu completed a VA form recommending that Woods work from home to avoid exertion and walking more than 100 feet. However, these requests were consistently denied by Dilosa and other supervisors. The complaint also highlights how Woods was subjected to bullying and intimidation regarding her job security after falling ill.
Woods further alleges that she contracted COVID-19 four times while working at the VA facility and that each time she was denied reasonable accommodations upon attempting to return to work. She claims that this ongoing denial of accommodations led to significant mental, emotional, and psychological harm.
In addition to declaratory judgment and equitable relief, Woods is seeking monetary damages for mental anguish, anxiety, emotional distress, back pay, loss of future earnings and earning capacity, loss of benefits, costs associated with filing the lawsuit, and attorney’s fees.
Representing Kenya Woods is attorney Stephanie Dovalina from New Orleans. The case has been assigned Civil Action No.: 2:24-cv-01983.